Business Highlights

Article by: The Associated Press

Associated Press

March 18, 2013 - 4:22 PM

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Cypriot deposits grab shocks savers across Europe

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A plan to seize up to 10 percent of people's savings in the small Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus sent shockwaves across Europe on Monday as some households feared the money they have in the bank may not be safe.

A weekend agreement between Cyprus and its European partners called for the government to tax bank accounts as part of a (EURO)15.8 billion ($20.4 billion) financial bailout, the first time in the eurozone's crisis that the prospect of tapping individuals' savings has been raised.

Facing outrage, Cypriot authorities delayed a parliamentary vote on the move and ordered banks to stay shut until Thursday while it tries to modify the deal to reduce the hit on people with small deposits.

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Journalism study shows impact of cutbacks in news

NEW YORK (AP) — Years of newsroom cutbacks have had a demonstrable impact on the quality of digital, newspaper and television news and in how consumers view that work, a study released Monday found.

Nearly one-third of consumers surveyed by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism said they have abandoned a news outlet because it no longer gave them what they had counted on, either with fewer or less complete stories.

Pew's annual State of the News Media report delivered what has become a common litany of grim business statistics. Television news viewership is down. Newsroom employment at newspapers is down 30 percent since a peak in 2000 and has gone below 40,000 people for the first time since 1978.

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Monitoring your kids on Facebook? That's so 2009.

WASHINGTON (AP) — By the time Facebook dominated social media, parents had joined the party, too. But the online scene has changed — dramatically, as it turns out — and these days even if you're friends with your kids on Facebook, it doesn't mean you know what they're doing.

Thousands of software programs now offer new ways to chat and swap pictures. The most popular apps can make a hum-drum snapshot more artistic or broadcast your location to friends in case they want to meet you. Kids who use them don't need a credit card or even a cellphone, just an Internet connection and a device like an iPod Touch or Kindle Fire.

Parents who want to keep up should stop thinking in terms of imposing time limits or banning social media services, which are stopgap measures. Experts say it's time to talk frankly to kids about privacy controls and remind them — again — how nothing in cyberspace every really goes away, even when software companies promise it does.

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As odds grow long, opponents move to stop pipeline

MARTELL, Neb. (AP) — With a sense of grim determination, a group of unlikely allies has begun gathering at kitchen tables, in churches and along fence rows here to plot what could be the final battle in the four-year conflict over the Keystone XL pipeline.

After months of quiet, a recent State Department report dismissing the ecological impact of the pipeline has cleared the way for a final decision on the plan for transporting oil extracted from the Alberta tar sands more than 1,700 miles to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

An unusual coalition of environmentalists, property rights advocates and ranchers is now trying to find new ways to derail a project that, more than ever, seems to be headed for approval in a nation eager for jobs and energy development.

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US builder confidence falls on weak supply, labor

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders fell this month because of concerns that increased demand for new homes is exceeding supplies of ready-to-build land, building materials and workers.

In the short term, those constraints could slow sales. But builders' outlook for sales over the next six months has reached its strongest point in more than six years.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Monday fell to 44 from 46 in February. It was the second decline since January, which was preceded by eight straight monthly gains. A measure of current sales conditions declined from February's reading.

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Jobless rates rise in January in half of US states

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates increased in half of U.S. states in January from December, as employers nationwide added the fewest jobs in seven months.

The Labor Department said Monday that unemployment rates rose in 25 states. They fell in 8 states and were unchanged in 17.

Despite the increase, some long-suffering states showed improvement in January.

Florida's unemployment rate fell below the national level for the first time in five years, further evidence that the state is recovering from a deep housing slump.

And Michigan, which has benefited from the comeback of the auto industry, added 26,500 jobs in January — the most of any state. Its unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.9 percent.

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Chrysler recalls Dodge Challengers for fire risk

DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler is telling owners of about 2,500 Dodge Challenger muscle cars with V-6 engines not to drive them because a short in a wiring circuit can set them on fire.

Owners also are being told not to park the cars in a garage or near a structure until the problem can be fixed.

The cars are from the 2013 model year and have V-6 engines. They were made during the eight weeks that ended Jan. 24.

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Ericsson, STMicroelectronics to cut 1,600 jobs

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish wireless equipment maker Ericsson and Switzerland's STMicroelectronics say they will lay off up to 1,600 workers globally as part of a plan for splitting up their unprofitable joint venture.

STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest chipmakers, announced in December that it wanted out of ST-Ericsson as it struggled with a downturn in global demand. After months of talks the two companies said Monday they had agreed to end the joint venture.

Ericsson said it will take on the joint venture's "thin modem" products, designed for smartphones and tablets while STMicroelectronics will deal with other existing products and related businesses.

The company named Larry Probst as executive chairman while it searches for a replacement. Probst was CEO from 1991 to 2007, when Riccitiello took over. Probst has served as EA's chairman since 1994.

Separately, EA said fourth-quarter revenue and earnings per share will be at the low end or below its January guidance.

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Burger King to offer a turkey burger

NEW YORK (AP) — If you think a Whopper's too indulgent but are sick of chicken sandwiches, Burger King is offering a turkey burger for the first time.

The Miami-based company is rolling out the new sandwich this week as part of its limited-time offers for spring, marking the latest fast-food effort to cater to health-conscious diners. Last week McDonald's said it plans to offer a lower-calorie version of its Egg McMuffin made with egg whites. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain said the egg whites will be available for any other breakfast sandwich on its menu as well.

McDonald's and Wendy's said they have never offered a turkey burger, meaning Burger King would be the biggest fast-food chain to do so. But it's not the first. Sister chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's launched a trio of turkey burgers as limited-time offers in late 2010. They were so popular that they're now a permanent part of the menus.

Benchmark oil for April delivery rose 29 cents to end at $93.74 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, fell 31 cents to end at $109.51 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Natural gas gained 1 cent to finish at $3.88 per 1,000 cubic feet. Wholesale gasoline lost 3 cents to finish at $3.13 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to end at $2.93 a gallon.